Novell GroupWise 5.x Bug Can Cause Security Holes and GPFs
TESTS PERFORMED at BugNet's request have confirmed a dangerous and persistent bug in at least two versions of Novell GroupWise 5.
In GroupWise 5.1, if you are viewing an attachment to a message in a shared folder and hit Ctrl-M to compose a new mail message, the message window may appear with the From address containing the name of the owner of the shared folder that you are currently in, instead of your own name.
This makes it possible for someone to send mail that appears to be from someone else, raising the possibility for all sorts of confusion if not outright mischief.
Novell fixed the bug in GroupWise 5.2, but tests performed by KeyLabs, the world's largest independent PC testing facility, reveal that the bug has reappeared in GroupWise version 5.5 in a different form. If you perform the steps described above in GroupWise 5.5, you are likely to get a General Protection Fault.
The problem does not occur if the attachment is opened, or if it is not in a shared folder.
No word from Novell yet on when a fix may be available, but it's already too late for HBO, the organization which originally brought the problem to BugNet's attention.
According to HBO's Joseph Maddison in Minneapolis, "Actually, we've just switched to [Microsoft] Outlook, so it doesn't really pose a problem for us now."
– Bruce Brown
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